The invention relates to a motor vehicle steering lock that has a housing in which a lock cylinder is disposed with a selector shaft, which can assume various rotational positions, and an adjustment element of an ignition switch that is coupled in terms of movement to the selector shaft of the lock cylinder, which triggers a desired function in the motor vehicle depending on the rotational position of the selector shaft.
A motor vehicle steering lock of the type specified in the introductory paragraph is known, for example, from DE 92 02 367. A lock cylinder selector shaft is coupled to an adjustment element of an ignition switch with a plug-in connection in this known motor vehicle steering lock, in that a tab-shaped projection of the selector shaft, projecting in the longitudinal, or axial direction, is inserted into a slot-shaped receiver in the adjustment element. This plug-in connection transfers the rotation of a mechanical key, or ignition key, that is inserted into the lock cylinder and rotated, for example, when starting the motor vehicle. The selector shaft is rotated from a standby position or locked position into a working position during this rotation, wherein it can be rotated to a first stage, referred to as ACC, in which the power supply in the vehicle comes exclusively from the starter battery, to a second stage, in which the power supplies for ignition and motor loads are switched on, or to a third stage, in which the electrical starter is switched on, and a spring contact returns the ignition key to the second stage when it is released.
The plug-in connection known from the prior art compensates for tolerances in the longitudinal, or axial, direction of the selector shaft between the selector shaft and the adjustment element, which is of no significance, however, with regard to the switching performance. This would require compensation for tolerances in the direction of rotation, which is only possible, however, up to a rotation of no more than 90° in the plug-in connection known from the prior art, because the selector shaft is then tightened against the adjustment element. Moreover, tolerance problems in the plug-in connection lead to a canting of the fit, which ultimately results in an overload to the spring elements in the ignition switch that are come into contact with as a result of the rotation, and ultimately endangers the functionality and may lead to damage.
The fundamental object of the invention is to create a structurally simple and inexpensive motor vehicle steering lock, which solves the tolerance problems known from the prior art, and provides a coupling possibility for the selector shaft and adjustment element that relieves the tensions along the longitudinal axis.